Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Teenagers

Raise awareness about what's happening around the world by arranging a newspaper scavenger hunt, get familiar with your surroundings and neighbors by going on a neighborhood scavenger hunt, or do a world of good to kids or old people by scavenger hunting in an NGO.

If you thought that scavenger hunts were only for fun and pleasure, think again! Well thought of, well-planned, and well-conducted scavenger hunts can educate the participants. The ideas mentioned in this article can be used to help you get started.

If the people in the neighborhood are friendly with one another and game for this, then the amount of fun you can have with this scavenger hunt idea is unparalleled. To start with, split up the teens into teams of five, each. Next, give each of them a list of things that they have to collect from their neighbors.

You can list things like - a family photograph with their pet, an old piece of furniture, a clothing item which was bought on a trip abroad, a teacup, a wall hanging, ten newspapers, etc.

The rule of the game is that the teens cannot ask for more than one item from a house. The team which comes back first with all the items on the list, is declared as the winner.The rule of the game is that the teens cannot ask for more than one item from a house. The team which comes back first with all the items on the list, is declared as the winner.

To inculcate a habit of reading the newspaper in teens, plan a newspaper and magazine hunt with them. So, get hold of old newspapers and magazines, and distribute equally to the teen groups. Next, give them a list of things that they need to look for in the newspapers and magazines.

The list can include things like - a classified advertisement of a friendship club, a famous quote, two obituary advertisements, one each of political, business, and entertainment news item, two news items which are specific to some states, etc.

To make it more fun, you can ask for cuttings of some specific pictures as well, such as a romancing couple, a laughing kid, an advertisement selling an environment friendly product, etc.

Plan a scavenger hunt across a specific are of a city and help the participants learn about its history, important buildings, famous places, and personalities.

Ask the participants for things like - take the photograph of the oldest building in the city, go to the main library and inquire about the membership details, get an interview of five tourists and ask them the things that they liked or disliked about the city, go to the main post office and buy envelops,...

...take a ride in the city tourist bus and save the tickets, visit the art museum and ask the caretaker about its history including when was it build, what kind of artifacts does it house, etc. To make sure that the teens have actually completed the tasks themselves, ask them to click a photograph every time they are performing a task!

Most of the teens these days are self-obsessed, just keeping to themselves, minding their own business. So, to help them get over this selfish streak, plan a scavenger hunt in which they get a chance at social service.

Make them visit three NGOs or homes for the elderly and put in an hour of doing community work in each of these, find an old couple staying in their neighborhood and help them with their grocery shopping, visit a low income suburb and take up a cleaning job there.

You can plan this scavenger hunt over a number of days if the tasks cannot be completed in a single day. For completing this scavenger hunt, every participant and team is a winner!

The ideas suggested above, are different, adventurous, exciting and a great learning experience, all in one! So, the next time with your teen friends around, if you fall out of things to do, plan such fun games that will not only be fun, but will also add to the knowledge and experience!